


Potter and friends

by Crystal_BangTan



Category: Friends (TV), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, F/M, Hinny, M/M, romione
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:22:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27927454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crystal_BangTan/pseuds/Crystal_BangTan
Summary: Harry Potter and friends (tv) plot mixIn which the characters school life didn’t go as it did in the books/movies. Og character, Winnifred Tuffin living with her friends, Harry, Ron, Ginny, Luna, Neville, Draco and Hermione in the muggle world!
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Original Female Character(s), Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom/Luna Lovegood
Kudos: 1





	Potter and friends

**Author's Note:**

> Best if you’ve not seen friends so it’s like seeing this HP au in a fresh light, but I hope you enjoy this!

The Muggle word was a scary place for some of this tragic group of friends. These friends who were so used to the world of magic, being able to fix any minor problem with the swish of a wand, educated- the lot of them- for it to be just that simple.

But, of course, they were coping, just fine with the lead of Harry and Winnifred. 

The years of school they’d seen plenty of was still prominent in their mind, especially when you consider the amount of years some had even worked there.

The group, contrary to what they’d have ever believed years before, were talking about real, Muggle word issues of theirs, weirdly, and unfortunately for Winnifred too. 

She heaved a sigh, sipping her coffee with a grimace. “He was here! In... Muggle London. I told you it’s just someone we knew from school.”

“Yeah, but...” Neville worried, leaning forward in his seat. “Who is it? And what’s wrong with him?”

“Why do you assume there’s something wrong?”

“Well, he’s going out with you. And every guy you’ve liked was a little-

“Neville!” Winnifred snapped, offended. Her eyes found Draco who nodded along, nonchalantly. 

“Yeah, no, he’s right, so what’s wrong with him?”

She scoffed, leaning back on the cafes couch, suddenly in a dull mood. “Nothing!”

“Come on, guys, be nice,” Harry warned, face serious. “So, Winnie, does this guy deal drugs or just have a disproportionate head or something?”

Of course, they were all completely aware of Winnifreds history with bad men. It was the reason they all assumed she’d been into Draco when she defended him back in school, and now she’s forgotten how to even defend herself over that one. 

“Does he believe in dream catchers and wind-chimes?” Luna perked from her place on the floor. “Or does he eat his own nails?”

The group stares at her, bemused, and she pats Winnifreds knee, suddenly, (and exaggeratedly -unbeknownst to only herself) pained. “Oh, because I don’t want you to go through what I did with Pike.”

Winnifred quirked a brow, almost alarmed by the casually strewn information. “Okay, just calm down, all of you. We’re not even going out. I’m just going to see this old friend to catch up, grab some lunch and not flirt with, touch or kiss him.”

“That’s- that’s not how a date goes?”

Draco, the only one to speak as the others averted their gaze elsewhere, gave Harry an encouraging look. “Sure it is, of course it is!”

“Yeah, well, the best date I’ve had was in my dream.” Harry suddenly sports a far-off look, gazes off. “Monopoly has never looked more arousing.”

“Lucky, my dreams are all the stuff off nightmares. Like, just last night I dreamt that I’m back a Hogwarts, I’m in the great hall, but I’m completely naked.”

“Oh, I’ve had that dream,” Neville chirps, looking up at Draco who gives him a look.

“Let’s just see about that... so I look down, and there’s one of those Muggle home phones... there.”

“Instead of your-?”

“Correct.”

“I take it back,” Neville corrects, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

“I think I have,” says Luna, pouring two syrups into her coffee cup. The group stare for a while, eventually tearing away, as if it hadn’t happened in the first place. 

“...yeah, so, uh- suddenly, the phone starts ringing out, and everyone’s just looking-

“They weren’t looking before when you were standing  _ silently _ in the hall with your phone crotch on display?” Winnifred challenged, only to be ignored.

“So anyway, my mind starts wondering, what do I do? Do I pick up? But I decide to do it. And it turns out to be my father, which is really weird because, he’s embarrassed by me.”

Just in the nick of time before anyone was forced to carry on the joke, the bell to the cafe rung, and in walked a soaking wet Ron and Ginny, arguing under their breath. 

“Hey?”

“Hey, Harry,” Ron spoke, solemnly.

Ginny rolled her eyes, hitting him hard on the arm before she sat next to Winnifred on the couch. “Just tell them, you absolute twat.”

Brows were raised, and all eyes were on Ron now, who pouted pathetically. “Are you okay?” Winnifred asks, knowing her cousins well enough to realise this wasn’t a regular old bicker.

“I feel distraught for him, Winnie. He acts like it’s been a long time coming, but it’s not...”

Noticing the questioning glances, Ginny fills in the blanks. “Angelina and George have finalised the divorce.”

“Ohh~” the group choruses, some clicking, and others rolling their eyes.

“The couple who fought and argued all the time, couldn’t even agree about what to name the baby without having a screaming match over it? You don’t think it’s been a long time coming?”

Ron just huffs, slouching beside his family on the couch. “Let me order you a cappuccino,” Ginny offers.

Luna, with a sympathetic gaze, digs around her fleece pocket, fishing out a piece of string with a small pendant. She reaches to tie it around Ron’s neck, but he lightly pushes her away, irritated. 

“Luna, please, I don’t need your charms.”

“That’s fine,” she shrugs. “Be fuzzy. I like it too sometimes.”

“Wrackspurts,” Neville sighs. 

“It’s fine.  _ I’m _ fine. It’s George who needs the help. I hope that Angelina’s happy.”

“It’s not her fault,” Ginny groaned.

“She broke our brothers heart!”

“He’s relieved! And so is she for that matter, stop getting so worked up! ...Mum called Bill and Charlie about it this morning, and they seemed to understand.”

“I’m taking it... fine too, you know,” Ron growled, crossing his arms aggressively over his chest. 

“Oh really?” Winnifred scoffed, mocking a laugh. “So that hysterical phone call to my house from a grown, 25 year old man, sobbing that he’ll never be an uncle was just a misdial from a stranger?”

“Yes...” he lied sheepishly.

Ginny, brows knitted, faces him, quickly. “What do you mean, you’ll never be an uncle?”

“Look, the point is- I’m taking it like a champ. I just... I’m sad, and I just wish he was married again...”

As if on cue, the door chimes again, and in walks a familiar face, a girl in a stunning-beaded wedding gown. The group stared, stunned, and Harry gestures towards the door.

“And I just wish for a million pounds!”

Winnifred watched the mysterious bride walk up to the counter, soaked gown hiked above her ankles, and as soon as she heard a snippet of her voice... 

“Hermione?” She stood, watching as the bride whipped around at the calling of her name. 

A massive smile spread across her face as she watched her school best friend speed towards her. 

“Winnie! Oh, God, hi! I was just in your building looking for you! I can’t believe you’re here! You’re really here!”

“Of course!” She smiled, looking the witch up and down. Hermione Granger, married at 25. Who would have thought? 

The smart one of the two, not the most affectionate either. 

“God, well, let me re-introduce you to everybody!” 

With a joyful smile, Winnifred grabbed Hermiones hand, leading her to the cafes couch. 

“Guys, I’d like you to remeet Hermione Granger. She was at school with us. Uhm, that’s Draco, he was in Slytherin, that’s Neville, that’s Harry, Luna- Ravenclaw- uhm, and you remember my cousins, Ron and Ginny?”

“Of course, I remember you two! Lovely to meet you all.”

She smiles, unsure of what to do next. At her rescue, Winnifred prompts her along with a nod. “So, are you going to tell us what’s going on?”

“Oh, sorry, of course,” she apologises, shaking her head. “Well, it started a half hour before mine and Cormacs wedding-

“I’m sorry, Cormac McLaggen?” Ron cut in. 

Hermione nods, simply, drawing in a breath. “So, anyway, it’s a half-hour before the wedding, and I was looking at all the gifts. The dozens and dozens of gifts from all our friends and all our families... charms, broomsticks, sports equipment- but then I saw some books. Some fiction, non-fiction books of everything I’ve been missing while I’ve been with him. And I realised I was more attracted to this idea of freedom and variety than Cormac, and it just hit me. I wasn’t living my life the way I’d like. So, I came here, and the first thing I thought of when seeing the streets of Muggle London again was you, Winnie...”

Cold, wet, worried and confused, Hermione was in the sanctity of her friends apparent, home phone pressed to her ear as the others focussed all their attention on the Korean drama playing, no subtitles to be seen.

“Now, I’m guessing she’s in the police station to turn herself in?”

“No, she’s clearly arguing with the witnesses!”

“The ‘witnesses’ are seven years old, Harry.”

“You’re seven years old!”

“Please, listen to me! I made my mark on the ministry, but I don’t want to be further involved if I have to marry Cormac to do it! 

It’s not what I deserve. Put my father on the phone. If he knew, he’d be glad I’m doing this! Well, then I’m not going back! I’m back in London.  London London. And you tell him that until further notice I’m staying with Winnifred Tuffin!”

Hermione hangs up the phone with a frustrated groan, and all heads turn to Winnifred who seems skeptical. 

“Well, I guess that until further notice, she’s staying with Winnifred Tuffin.”

The brunette ruffled a hand through her hair awkwardly as the disheveled bride cursed herself out, rushing to kneel beside her friend, phone still in hand.

“Oh, Winnie, I’m sorry. You don’t mind, do you? Just until I’m on my own feet. Or until mother and father can get rid of their properties, and out of the Wizarding world.”

She considered for a second, eyeing the spare bedroom, and seeing no reason why she shouldn’t help an old friend in need. “Sure. Anything you need, Hermione.”

She muttered a thank you when the buzzer sounded. Winnifred rushed to answer with a skip in her step, grin etched on her face. 

She pressed her finger into the button, and answered.

“Hello!”

“Hey, it’s Theodore.”

“Come on up!”

“Theodore? Theodore Nott?” Nevillesqueaked. At Winnifreds smile, his brows shot up. “You’re dating Thoedore Nott?”

“Wait, what? That one Slytherin you used to talk to in fourth year?” 

“Yes, Ron, that one Slytherin I used to talk to in fourth year.”

“Also known as that one Slytherin you stopped talking to in sixth year because he was a Death Eater?”

Winnifred grinned sheepishly, shrugging her shoulders. 

“Yeah... but, I mean, Severus Snape was a Death Eater, and he wasn’t evil. A bully, maybe, but still. And Draco...?”

The man in question threw his hands in the air, semi-playfully. “Yeah, I suppose I am living proof of a good ex-Death Eater.”

“He done it on purpose. Draco didn’t,” Ginny reminded.

Hermione, phone still clutched in hand eyed Draco warily. She had every right to feel threatened, but Winnifred couldn’t help but chuckle. “Herm, it’s fine. And, guys, Theo just broke up with Pansy Parkinson, so it might not even go anywhere. You all need to relax.”

Of course she wanted it to go somewhere. Not that she’d tell any of her friends so soon. All they’d do is push and tease like always.

Theodore Nott was the kindest, most handsome Slytherin in the school, and she just couldn’t believe that he’d take the dark mark willingly. 

She turned, opening the front door, waiting to see their old schoolmate ascend the stairs. Quickly, she turns to Hermione with a small gasp. “‘Mione, God! You don’t know any of these guys that well. Would you want me to stay?”

“What? No! No, I’ll be fine. Could I borrow some of your clothes until I can go and get some on my things?”

“Sure,” she smiles. “Make yourself at home. Theo, hey!”

The man had stopped in front of the door, jaw every bit as sharp as she’d remembered it to be. It was like being a schoolgirl again, how weak her knees went under his gaze. 

“Hey, Winnie. Hey... everyone else.”

The group choruses some greetings, trying to sound as genuine as possible, but their friend didn’t miss the teasing tones. 

“Why don’t you have a seat,” she said, leading him to the couch in the open living room, closing the front door behind him. “I haven’t even changed yet, I’ve been so distracted.”

“Sure,” he nodded, making himself comfortable between Harry and Luna as Winnifred raced into her bedroom. Harry, taking the opportunity to make fun of the situation, leaned into the newcomer with a low, secret-telling voice. 

“She’s a bit of a freak, our Winnie. Don’t let her take you for a joyride.”

“Harry, shut your annoying ass up!”

“So,” Ron breathed, taking a seat in the kitchen next to Hermione. “Got any plans for tonight?”

The girl motioned to her attire half-humorously. “Well, um... I was meant to be home, securing my tickets to France as a new bride, but...”

Annoyed at his big mouth Ron shook his head with a frown. “Sorry... just when I thought I’d grown out of being an ignorant idiot...”

Unknown to him, Hermione gazed fondly at the boy who thought carefully about his next words. “Well, Harry and Draco are coming up to George’s tonight. We’re helping him set up his new flat if you’d want to join us...?”

“Thanks, Ron,” she smiles. “But, honestly, I think I’ll just stay in tonight with a book. Maybe phone up a few places, make some job inquiries in the morning... you can imagine how long my day has been.”

“Yeah, of course. Sure. Brilliant. Fine. That’s...”

“Stop talking,” Harry quipped, eyes still on the TV.

“Yep,” Ron nodded, turning to open the fridge.

“I’ll stay in with you tonight, Hermione,” Ginny perked, pulling her hair into a ponytail with a warm smile. 

“What about you then, Luna?” Harry nudged the blonde woman across Theodores lap. “You sure you don’t want to help out?”

“I’d rather go home and experiment with all the food in my fridge,” she spoke, genuinely, unmoving. 

  
  


“I can’t even tell what half of this is meant to be. And I used my wand!” George groaned, annoyingly, voice nearly echoing in the wooden strewn, new apartment, eying the odd furniture.

“Make sure you’re not seen with that,” Harry reminded the ginger who gave him a dull look. 

“We’re five stories up, no ones going to see. I haven’t done anything without my wand since I outgrew the tracker, you know.”

“Well, don’t get too fond. You’re in Muggle London now,” said Draco, opening his friends new fridge, stealing his beers.

“George, you- you’re not still wearing her ring, are you?” His younger brother questioned, solemnly. 

George rolled his eyes with a tired sigh, pointing towards the door. “If you’re going to start this again, go cry somewhere else... or find a bloody job, whatever works for you.”

Ron scoffs, genuinely offended at the turn of events. His face flames as he begins to sputter. “Wha-? That was uncalled for! What has me being jobless got to do with your divorce?”

“Absolutely nothing. You’re too busy getting overly involved in my life because you’re not busy enough.”

“And because you’ve not dated since Lavender Brown.”

Draco nods at Harry’s statement, something clicking in his brain. “Which explains the weird emotional attachment to other people’s love life.”

“That’s lunatic, that is. What are you, psychiatrists now?”

Embarrassed, Ron grabs a can of beer and gulps it back. 

  
  


Winnifred put down her wine glass, trying her very hardest to avoid spilling the alcohol down her fingers for the second time that night due to her giggle fits.

“Stop! It’s not even funny. You’re going through a hard time, but you’re telling the story so casually, I can’t take it seriously.”

“Well, that’s how it happened! Remember when we first started talking in fourth year? It was then, at the Yule ball, she first cheated.”

“I remember that night! Yeah, I went with that one kid, Seamus Finnegan! Yeah, I’m friends with his friend at the time now...” she told with an eyebrows raise, suddenly a little uncertain. “Wait, you and Pansy weren’t even dating in fourth year.”

“No, but she  _ was _ dating Ernie MacMillan. And she and I happened to hookup in one of the carriages.”

Winnifred choked on the forkful of pasta, quickly washing it down with water, blush dusting her cheeks. “You started that?!”

“We did! ...should have known better though...”

“Oh, you were kids! How were you meant to know she’d always be the same?” She spoke assuringly, resting her chin on her hand. “You know, my cousin’s going through a break-up. Not his own breakup, but he’s still pretty upset about it. Any tips on how to help him out?”

“Well, I don’t know. I just let it go over time. She’s someone else’s problem. Sometimes people just don’t work-out,” he said, much to his dates dismay. 

She frowned, exaggeratedly, folding her arms over her chest. “Awh. So I’ll just have to  wait for him to stop whining?”

Theodore laughed, shortly, shrugging his shoulders with a smirk. “Well, it’s probably the healthy way to do it. Or he could just, you know, break something of hers, get some closure.”

“That sounds more like Ron’s area.”

Neville, Ginny and Luna were finding it increasingly hard to keep their voices down as Hermione paces the room clad in fresh pyjamas, phone pressed to her ear again. 

There wasn’t many more kdramas the trio hadn’t seen on Netflix yet, and they were running out of ways to keep themselves amused in their friends apartment. 

“Cormac, I really am sorry, I’m sorry that I thought I could go through with this, but I can’t. My life isn’t worth the expense. I’ve not been living... I haven’t. But, please, please just pick up the bloody phone. I need to speak to my parents, just- get them to call me back on this number.”

Once again, she hung up with a deflated exhale. 

“God, I can’t go back there. I need a job. I should start looking at jobs, shouldn’t I?”

“Well, you said you would, earlier,” Ginny nudged, turning to face the outsider. “You know, all the of us work in the local library. I work in the book sections and those two work in the gift shop. I could easily put in a good word for you, as long as you have a CV written up from Hogwarts.”

“If you do, just put your log-in into Winnies computer,” said Neville, jerking his head in the direction of her bedroom. “She doesn’t mind, just use the blue laptop, not the grey one... not unless you’re _looking_ for the dirty stuff you’ll find.”

Ignoring the warning, Hermione fakes a grateful sob, pouting. “You’d do that, Ginny? You guys are brilliant! Thank you so much...”

  
  


“You’re divorced! You’re only 27 and you’re divorced!”

“Ron, for the love of everything that is good in this world, shut up!” Harry roars, close to snapping from an hours worth of frustration. 

“You’re killing us,” Draco agrees, more calmly, lightly tapping a hammer against a nail, watching as the unit collapses. He nods slowly, dropping the tool to the floor in silent defeat. 

“Look, Ron, what you’ve got to understand is that out of us-“ Harry motions to to the entire group- “George is the only one who’s hand a relationship that’s lasted longer than a Mento. Now, out of the three of us, you’re the only one who’s only had the joy of experiencing the taste of that minty goodness once.”

“Well, what if that’s just it? What if you’re only supposed to get it once? I’ve had it when I was 16, and maybe I’ll never have it again. What if I’m jobless and single forever?”

“Ron, just take a chance on someone! Might lead somewhere, might not. But there’s plenty of Mentos in a pack,” George reminded, sipping his beer. “Didn’t you say that Hermione Granger’s moved in with Winnie?”

“She’s not ‘moved in,’ she’s staying with her... and, yeah, so...?”

“Don’t do that. Don’t play dumb. I do remember the massive crush you had on her in school. But you were aways convinced she’d think you were just the ignorant cousin of her best friend, and that you were just that one guy who was oblivious to peoples feelings.”

“Yeah, Hermione was a top student, wasn’t she?” Harry’s queries.

Draco clicked his tongue with a nod. “Yeah, yeah. I remember because I was always the second scoring in classes because of her.”

“...sooo~ out of his league?”

“Oh, definitely.”

“You know, I think she really just didn’t want to tell me she wanted to leave me. You know, she couldn’t get over the dark mark. I was stupid when I took it...”

Winnifred stilled in her seat, watching as Theordores expression dropped, a new silence between the pair 

“...it must be hard for you to deal with now,” she said, lowly, reaching across the table to stoke the inside of his clothed arm.

“Yeah... kind of eats away at me.”

Back at the apartment, even after Neville and Luna had gone to their own homes, Ginny had stayed to help Hermione print off her CV, more than happy to get her kick-started. 

“I’d offer to hand these in for you, but it’ll look better if you do it yourself. You can come with me to work tomorrow morning.”

“Oh, good. I hope I get it. I really need this,” Hermione breathed, twisting out of her seat to pour some water into a glass. “Do you want some water?” 

“Better not. I should really go. And trust me, with a CV like that, you’re secured.”

After that incredibly long day, Hermione was relieved to hear it. It was enough for her to turn in for an early night, peacefully.

The morning was bright for all, sun gleaming through the windows into the dining area. 

Hermione happily poured tea for the boys across the hall as they sat, munching away at their breakfasts. 

“Isn’t this great? I mean, I’m finally going to have a job outside the ministry!”

“...what did you exactly do there?” Harry asked, sipping his tea.

Hermione shrugged casually, putting Draco’s tea in front of him. 

“Oh just passed a few life-saving Muggle laws, but~ If I’m living in the real world again, I want to get a taste of the freedom I lost.”

“You’re the one who turned the Ministry of Magic around?” Harry asked, shocked.

“Well, that makes sense. You were the one who created that stupid S.P.E.W thing in school, right?”

“Stupid?”

“Okay, fine, the organisation wasn’t stupid,” Draco defended. “But, I mean, you were the crazy girl that the house elves were even annoyed by. Trying to strip away, not only the abuse, but their actual livelihood.”

“Well, I fixed that. I was 14, leave me alone!”

“Oh, good. Dweedle-dumb and Dweedle-dee are in my kitchen. Again,” Winnifred smiles, exiting her bedroom, fully dressed.

“Good morning!”

“Hello~”

“Hey, win-

The girl stopped short, eyes falling onto Theodore Nott who was still in the house from the night before.

The three gave each other amused looks, trying to appear as if they weren’t planning to listen in as Winnifred walked her date to the front door. 

”I’ll talk to you later. Call me.” 

“I will,” he said, pecking her lips, softly before taking his leave. Her chest pumped rapidly, and a smile pulled at the corner of her lips and she whipped around to her amusedly grinning friends. “Did you guys see that? You saw that, right? You saw that?”

“We did! We saw!”

“I thought you said you weren’t going out!” Harry laughed. “Now I see what you’re all about, you little slut~“

“Don’t you have a Quidditch pitch to be on?” Winnifred snapped, hitting the boys shoulder. “I do. Those players won’t coach themselves,” he says, standing from his place at the table. “We’ve got Oliver to agree to a surprise visit. They never believed he and I knew each other.”

“Oh, so you’ve been name-dropping? I never imagined Harry Potter would have to name drop.”

“Oh! You’re Harry Potter! That makes so much more sense!” Hermione clicked, rushing towards him. “I remember being so excited to hear you were starting at Hogwarts, and then, you know, those seven... painful years happened...” 

“And I’m so very thrilled about it,” he humoured, making his way out the door. “Now, I must go. But don’t worry, I’ll be back in my house by evening, blasting music to assure a sleepless night for you,” he says, pressing a kiss to Winnifreds cheek. He exists, and Hermione shudders, putting down her tea cup. “Wow, just you wait until after today when I join you all in employment. I can see it now; myself, head to toe in books. So, what is it that you do?”

“I work in a hotel lobby at Travel Inn. But I’m looking to be published again. I’m a writer.”

“Would I have read anything you’ve written?”

“...I doubt it. Unless you’ve read ‘Sally’s Chance’?”

Hermione knitted her brows, thinking face on, but Winnifred suffers enough humiliation from her flopping career.

“I read it,” Draco cooed. “It was a beautiful book.”

“You were there when I started writing it, and when it was published. All of you read it.”

“And, what is it you do?” Hermione asked the blonde boy, who sat upright in his seat.

“I’m a high-school science teacher. I taught potions at Hogwarts for a short period of time, but I couldn’t do that when I started living here.”

“Yeah, Neville also worked at Hogwarts. He was a Herbology Professor, but his grandmother moved out here last year, and he came out to take care of her. He’s the newest to the Muggle World. He works in the library gift shop with Luna, who has an independent meditation business.” 

“Wow! Impressive, all of you. What about Ron, what does he do?” 

“He’s unemployed. His family are generations worth of Pure-bloods, and he’s not found his way yet. He’s always wanted to break into illustration, but he seems to think he’ll get there right away. He’s only been living off his successful sister for eight years,” Winnifred quipped. “She was a professional Quidditch player, you know. Still super famous among fans in the Wizarding world. She and Harry were on a team together in school, if you remember. It’s not kids he coaches. It’s the New Wimborne Wasps.”

Jaw on the floor, Hermione is in utter disbelief. “That’s so- you guys are- wow.”

“We are. We are so wow. If you’ll excuse me, ladies, I have mountains of papers to mark. It’s just so... wow,” Draco jested, clapping Hermiones shoulder, and kissing Winnifreds cheek on the way out the door.

“Well,” she turned, sitting across from Hermione, analysing her. “You look a lot better. You’re dressed so early, didn’t imagine you’d need to be anywhere.”

“Well, actually Ginny’s picking me up so I can hand in my CV to work in the library. I waste no time. So, let’s talk about you and the guy you’re ‘not going out with’,” she joshed with a teasing scrunch of the nose.

“God, I know, I didn’t plan for that to happen. Did you know his fiancée cheated on him? And that he lives in regret from bearing that Dark Mark? It’s so sad.”

“Didn’t you, um- didn’t you say Draco had the mark too?”

“He does. But if you look at his arm, you’ll notice all the tattoos around it. Lots of red roses. His mother liked to pick roses, and red is his favourite colour, so he feels as though he’s being closed off from it somehow. It’s sad, but I guess I can understand Theo, and sympathise with him because I know Draco,” she explained, tucking a strand of hair behind her ears.

“I understand. So~ how was it? The actual sex part.”

“Remember how the last time we saw each other, we were all innocent, and untouched, but I always used to, much to your dismay, say who I thought would be good in bed and who wouldn’t?” 

“And you said, “Theodore Nott, now he’d know how to rock someone’s world,” to which I utterly blanched?”

“Well,” she nodded. “I’ve never been more right about anything. And I’m the who made all those galleons when starting a betting pool that that Umbridge bitch wouldn’t last until the following year.”

“Would you want a wedding dress?” She offered. “Hardly used~”

Winnifred pretends to think for a second before rising from her seat just as Ginny walks through the front door. “We’ll see. Hey, Ginny, I’m off to work, not going to think about Theo all day. Otherwise I’m simply off to work!”

“I take it he was as good in bed as she thought.”

  
  


The front desk was quieter than usual, and Winnifred thanked Godric for it. Though, quiet mornings were usually the slower ones. Not that she really had any complaints. At least she looked cute in her uniform.

“Hi, there,” a voice came. “We have a room booked.” At the desk stood an oddly familiar woman, black hair flowing past her shoulders, cold smile on her face. “Lovely,” she smiled back, turning to the computer. “What’s the name?”

“Nott. We’ve got the special couples room. We just got engaged,” she gloated, dreamily. “I just arrived here, it’s all so new,” she blathered excitedly, not noticing Winnifreds paling skin.

“Uhm... I hope this isn’t weird. You’re Pansy Parkinson, right?”

“Do I know you?” She asked, voice soft.

“We just... we went to school together. I’m pretty sure we had a fist fight in third year on the Quidditch pitch. I used the... amplifying charm... to play inappropriate songs from my cassette in the great hall?”

A lightbulb went off in the woman’s head, and she made a loud, ‘ahhh,’ sound.

“Yeah! I remember you! Hey, sorry we didn’t get along.”

Behind her, walked in her fiancée, and Winnifred tried her best to avoid his gaze, checking the pair in on the computer, fetching the card for their suit. “Have a lovely stay, Pansy,” she smiles, ignoring the arrogant man who hadn’t even batted an eye.

“Aw, thank you... Winnifred?”

  
  


As much as everyone in the group wanted to smash their mugs over that mans head, they couldn’t believe their friend had ignored the warning. They sat in Kaffeine, the same old cafe, giving her a harder time that she needed. “We told you to be more suspicious!”

“No you didn’t, Harry.  _ You _ were suspicious, and I ignored _that_. There’s a difference,” she huffed, clutching her mug tight. “I mean, am I just stupid? Am I just entirely that stupid?”

“You are not stupid,” Draco assured, rubbing a hand up and down her arm. “Just a wishful thinker.” 

It was times like these she wished the ladies of the group were around. But unfortunately Ginny and Neville were still on shift, and Hermione has either succeeded and landed an immediate shift, or she’s suffocating in books until she finds out, hence her current absence.

“Why would he lie like that...?”

“He’s a bloke. A bad one, but I’d say he just doesn’t like being stuck with sex from the same girl. You gave him what he wanted.”

“Thanks, Ron. You’re of great comfort to me in these times,” she smiled, sarcastically.

“Come here,” Luna mumbled, fishing the same pendant from the day before out of her fleece, and reaching around Winnifreds neck with it.  She moved her hair as Luna tied the charmed, string necklace, and gave a thankful nod. “Now you’ll at least be able to have a clear head.”

She gave her a side hug as Ginny had walked through the cafe doors, smiling Hermione in suit, chatting away to Neville. 

“You look up upbeat,” Ron poked, watching s the three join them at the front of the cafe. “I take it you got the job?”

“Im working Monday to Wednesday 9-1, and Saturdays 4-9. It’s like a dream!”

The girl was met with a congratulatory chorus, and she looked utterly joyful. 

“Great, now I’m the only one without a job,” Ron complained. 

“Well, maybe actually try to find one, and stop living off your smart, successful sister,” Neville jabbed, wrapping his arms around said sisters shoulders. 

“Awh, thank you, Neville,” she squeezed. “He’s not wrong you know. You’ve got plenty of qualifications from Hogwarts. They’ll be disguised as Muggle subjects. Just find an easy job and work your way up, like we all did.”

“Yeah, and you can call the bank and break your joint contract. Just put the money your parents have given you over the years into your own card,” Hermione suggested, earning a look from Ron. “Oh, Ginny told me about that.”

“Great.” He huffed, exasperated, taking his phone from his pocket, and stepping away to the corner of the cafe. 

“Soo~ seeing Nott again anytime soon?” Hermione quirked her brows suggestively, earning a save from Draco and Harry. 

“Oh... anyone want cake?”

“Coffee anyone?”

“What~?” She dragged, turning to the boys then back to her roommate. “What? What’s happened? He didn’t break the condom or anything, did he?”

“No. Nothing like that, just... remember when I told you that he and Pansy had split?”

She nods, motioning her on. “Guess who shows up to check into one of the bestcouples suits in the place?”

“No~ did you say anything?”

“Of course not,” she squeaked. “I was just... suspiciously passive aggressive, is all...”

“I’m sorry... if you want, I can blackball him at a Quidditch appearance.” Ginny tapped Winnifreds knee with her foot, and she laughed, shaking her head.

“No, that’s not necessary.”

“You’re lying,” said Ron.

“You bet I’m lying. To hell with him, hope he gets spit on by the junkie wizards in Nocturn-Alley.”

  
  


Back at the apartment, Ron hadn’t yet gone home, even after his cousin had gone to bed to get a rough, despairing sleep.

He and Hermione stayed, finishing off the Korean drama in an awkward silence.

“So. Hogwarts.”

Hermione smiles at Ron’s awful attempt to make conversation, bringing her glass of water to her lips. “l remember you back then. You were the brightest witch of our age, apparently. Accidentally found a few Horcruxes in school.”

“You did too. It’s strange,” she confesses, clearing her throat. “We didn’t even know Harry then, but I remember how much we went through for him without... you know, realising we were going through it for him.”

The pair laughed, reminiscing about their school days, back when all their friends barely glanced at one another. Ron, with an awkward smile, contemplates his next words, twiddling his fingers awkwardly. 

“You know, back then, I just thought you were the most amazing girl. Pretty sure I crushed on you from fifth year to seventh year.”

“Yeah, Winnifred told me,” she chuckled.

“O-oh, she did?” 

“She kind of told me everything,” she explained apologetically, eyes playfully soft.

“See, back then, I figured that to you I was just your best friends ignorant cousin who always hurt peoples feelings.”

This prompted an almost comedic silence, and Hermione slowly nodded with a guilty grin. “Yeah, I told her that too. Shame on you! You were interested in a very judgmental little girl.”

“Well, we didn’t exactly run in the same circles. So I just saw you as the kind, if not snappy, girl that hung with my popular cousin.”

“She _was_ popular,” she agreed, laughing. “Wonder if we’d have gotten along in school.”

“Maybe if you’d have given me the time of day,” he jokes, checking his watch. He stands with a tired exhale, looking back at Hermione. “Then we could have found out. I’ve got to go, my empty home is awaiting...”

“Goodnight,” she waved, turning in for the night.

  
  


** Chapter Epilogue  **

The group sat together in the cafe once more, spending their Sunday in their usually way, Luna laying on the floor, head under the table with a book, feet rested on Neville knees as he giggled in his seat. Winnifred sat, rested into Harry’s side on the couch alongside Draco and Hermione, (who exchanged bemused looks with Ginny from the other chair around their table) as the banter went on.

“I said that you had a nice butt! Just not a great butt,” Winnifred told Draco who pouted.

“Then you wouldn’t know a great butt if it bit you!”

“ _ There’s _ an image,” Harry muttered 

Ron stocks towards the group, frown on his face as he motions to the coffee jug in his hand. The group, like every day in the last week, admired his green apron. “Refills? No?”

“No, we’re alright here, waiter,” Neville teased, smugly.

“Right, anyway, guys, I had this dream. So, I’m in the US...” Draco started, only to get interrupted by someone calling on Ron to wait on them just as he’d sat on the arm of his sisters chair to listen in.

He huffs, tapping a passing customer on the arm, passing them the jug. 

“Hey, Miss, could you pass this to that guy over there, yeah? Thanks.” He turns to Draco and nods him on. “Okay, sorry, so you’re in the US...”


End file.
